Richmond Magazine by Frankio

SPONSORED CONTENT A RICHMOND MAGAZINE BOLD WOMAN OF 2020 & 2021

Now, as things begin to open up again, Boss Babes has returned to its business focus, and Coleman hopes to strengthen the network even more with more in-person events and educational opportunities. “Rise and rebuild is our theme,” Coleman says. She looks forward to planning Boss Babes meet-and-greets with business owners/ corporations, as well as getaways delivering on EXPERIENCES & a varying conversation series. “We want to begin to work on shifting a networking culture into more of a collaboration culture,” she says. "We can help everyone see our city & their business pursuits with greater vision and potential, doing all we can to inﬂuence each member to play bigger in life and in their work." “We are kind of a little underground movement of our own.”

Formerly, she had piloted an entrepreneurial retreat in Belize, 2019, with Impact Junkies.

FIRMCREATIVESALTERLEE

CommunityRealOwnersBusinessFemaleNeedsSupportingof&theEstate

LEAH COLEMAN, OWNER REAL ESTATE COUTURE, AND OWNER, BOSS BABES RVA

WITHAPASSIONFORREALESTATEAND giving back, Leah Coleman has been able to transfer those interests into her career as a Realtor, an entrepreneur, and a business leader. Coleman, who created her own investment company in 2018 called Real Estate Couture LLC, also works as a Realtor and is the new owner of Boss Babes RVA, an online networking group founded by Christine Greenberg with close to now 10,000 members. Coleman gives credit to the team of administrators & moderators who have helped Boss Babes engage with more than 97,000 comments in 2020, thousands more in 2021. BBRVA has become a real FORCE for good connections & helping others elevate. “We are kind of a little underground movement of our own,” Coleman says. While the group originally focused on business and professional questions and resources, Coleman and her fellow administrators recognized that there were other needs the group could meet, especially with the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. In a big step, they allowed people with personal needs to reach out as well. Through Coleman’s own businesses, she began helping more women with ﬁnding private & lending resources for real estate investments & encouraging renovation as a way to bring more inventory to the market, even helping with design, & resale/launching Airbnb's. She also has organized groups on investment, on entrepreneurship, women of faith prayer meeting on Zoom weekly, & piloted several successful collaborations.

Yedda Stancil, fellow entrepreneur & author, helped gather a group of business & career women weekly over the summer/fall 2021 for launching her book & course called 'Shut Up & Sit: Finding Silence & the Life Changing Magic that Comes with It." Then, along with fellow wellness focused Boss Babes- joined a global retreat eﬀort in Africa in fall 2021.

“We are kind of a ourmovementundergroundlittleofown.”leah@dodsonprop.com804-484-2018leahcoleman.cobossbabesrva.com

The city is evaluating proposals to replace The Diamond and redevelop 67 acres in and around the ballpark.

MARCH / 202222 FOSTERERIC hey gather under a tent in the parking lot, just beyond the outfield fences.Ona chilly weekday morning in mid-January, development teams from across the country are here to get a tour of what Richmond Econom ic Development Director Leonard Sledge calls “the best redevelopment site along the Eastern Seaboard.” Roughly three dozen people are seated in folding chairs facing the grandstands of e Diamond on Arthur Ashe Boulevard, amid a sea of asphalt. Despite a biting wind, the mood is upbeat.Thecity has spent the past several years cobbling together parcels, demol ishing and relocating city-owned build ings, and taking ownership of the base ball stadium in preparation for a major redevelopment. It now controls most of the 67 acres in and around e Diamond, save for 6.6 acres still owned by Virginia Commonwealth University. After months of planning, the city released its vision for the area in late December, dubbing the ballpark-an chored site as Richmond’s “Diamond Dis trict.” Plans call for mixed-use, mixed-in come residential housing and retail, o ce buildings, and a hotel in what’s arguably Richmond’s most valuable piece of unde veloped property. It sits at a vital region al gateway just o Interstates 95 and 64, bordered by a thriving Sco ’s Addition, the Museum District and the Fan, along with reemerging residential neighbor hoods on the city’s North Side. “I just want to convey that Richmond is ripe for this development,” Sledge tells the assembled developers, making clear that whatever they dream up for the 67 acres as part of their initial proposals, it must revolve around a new baseball sta dium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. “The standards for minor league base ball stadiums and facilities, they have changed. And for us to remain competitive as a home for minor league baseball, the Flying Squirrels — they need a new home.”

ECONOMIC

On the heels of the bungled Navy Hill project, the proposed $1.5 billion city center development led by the late omas F. Farrell, former president and CEO of Dominion Energy, the Diamond District represents something of a depar ture. Unlike Navy Hill, shepherded by Farrell and the business community, the city developed its vision for the 67 acres before seeking out private developers.

“People have asked, ‘How is this dif ferent?’ ” says Maritza Mercado Pechin, deputy director in the city’s Department of Planning and Development Review. The answer is in the master plan.

After more than 20 years of debate and hand-wringing over replacing e Diamond, built in 1985 and home to the Squirrels since 2010, city o cials say they are ﬁnally ready. As an outgrowth of the Richmond 300 master plan, in late Decem ber the city issued an initial “Request for Interest” from developers, responses to which were due Feb. 15. An evaluation panel is in the process of poring over the submissions and will select a “short list” of development teams that will be invited to submit more detailed proposals. e city plans to announce the winning team by late spring or summer. It’s familiar territory. Plans to rebuild the aging ballpark have been bouncing around City Hall since 2001. But this time there’s a di er ence: Instead of playing defense, respond ing to private developers and outside pro posals to relocate the baseball stadium (Shockoe Bo om, Mayo Island, next to the Federal Reserve Bank downtown), city planners are now driving the process.

T BACK IN THE COUNT

Richmond readies the Diamond District for redevelopment — and a new ballpark DEVELOPMENT

RM: The Spanish flu ended when a more con tagious, less deadly variant became dominant. How does the emergence of omicron compare to that scenario? Avula: The Spanish flu spanned a couple of years, and over time the pandemic petered out. But the flu is still around, and it evolves each year. That’s why you need a new flu shot each year each year brings a new mix of mutations. Because omicron is so contagious, the com bination of immunity from the vaccine plus the immunity from this round of infection will start to limit the number of people susceptible to future disease.COVID isn’t going to go away. But it will become an endemic, not a pandemic. Between natural immunity and immunity from the vaccine, I think we’re getting really close to that point. —D. Hunter Reardon

Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s former vaccination coordinator, was recently appointed commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services.

r. Danny Avula, who served as the state vaccination coordinator under former Gov. Ralph Northam, has had a busy couple of years. In addition to running the state’s eﬀorts to vaccinate millions of Virginians during the COVID-19 pandemic, Avula also prac tices clinically as a pediatric hospitalist. Avula recently stepped down as state vac cination coordinator. In early February, he was appointed commissioner of the Virginia Depart ment of Social Services by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Avula spoke with Richmond magazine about his experiences and lessons learned over the last two years, and his qualiﬁed optimism that the end of the pandemic is within sight.

Richmond magazine: How has the pandemic changed your daily job as a health care profes sional? Dr. Danny Avula: For those of us who work in public health, COVID-19 completely subsumed anything we did before. In 2020 and 2021, we were completely focused on COVID. As in many aspects of our lives, other priorities had to take the back burner. The health department still traces other communicable diseases. We still do restaurant inspections. But the degree to which we’ve been able to offer some services has been scaled down, as staff has been redirected to combating COVID. I think that soon we’ll be at a point where we’re able to prioritize those other aspects of our job again. RM: What lessons have been learned in the med ical community from the COVID-19 pandemic? Avula: There are a bunch, and there are some that will continue to emerge. Since 9/11, one of the roles that federal funding has given local health departments is the ability to distribute medical countermeasures flu shots, pills, medication. We practice that every year with the flu, and that practice has cer tainly helped. One of the things that went extraor dinarily well last year was vaccine distribution. W hat we didn’t anticipate was the impact social media would have on patient behavior and patient trust, especially in relation to the vaccine. Now we recognize that there are a lot of forces at play, and that social media is a powerful shaper of opinion on health issues. In the future, we have got to leverage our voice as a health department and use social media effectively. That can only be so successful government social media platforms are not going to compete with a celebrity like Nicki Minaj. So we also have to have nurses and doctors engaging the public in a broader sense doing interviews with media, using our own social media plat forms, showing up to city councils. There are a lot of intentional efforts on social media to provide information that can lead people astray, and we need to counteract that intentionally. Another lesson is about the makeup of our workforce.Ourworkforce needs to reflect the communi ties we hope to serve. For almost a decade now, we’ve done a lot to expand our programming in that area, but COVID showed we still need to aug ment that part of our workforce. RM: What specific recommendations would you make now to prevent infection? Avula: The most important thing to understand is that vaccination is the best way to protect our selves. What we’ll see is that with each new vari ant, the ability to protect oneself varies. Even fully vaccinated people are getting omicron at a high rate, but vaccination [protects] you against severe disease. That’s the main goal keeping people out of the hospital and keeping them from dying. We also know that there are habits and behaviors we’ve learned over the last few years that we need to practice when there are high case rates in our community. Before COVID, peo ple would go to work and school with head colds all the time. But COVID is a different breed, and if we have cold symptoms, we need to get tested for COVID, and quarantine if we are positive. And when we are at work, in school and in public settings, wearing a mask is a helpful addition to vaccination.

MARCH / 202226 LOCAL HAMIDZAID

THENEARINGEND?

Two years into the pandemic, Dr. Danny Avula says there’s good reason to be optimistic Q&A D

PAULJAY

NEWS

State Statute Lacks Clarity

MARCH / 202232 race Zweckbronner, a 14-year-old transgender high school student in Hanover County, just wants to go to the restroom with her friends without feeling like a social Unfortunately,pariah.she can’t. So last Decem ber, she decided to do something about it. Zweckbronner is one of ﬁve students whose parents are plainti s in a lawsuit ﬁled by the Virginia ACLU against the Hanover County School Board, which declined to adopt a state-mandated policy last fall allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identities. “I finally just had enough,” Zweck bronner says. “I was tired of having to go somewhere else and missing the social aspect of going to the bathroom with friends.” Being barred from facilities that align with her gender identity, she says, is a near-constant reminder that she isn’t accepted for who she truly is. “ ere’s so much I have to deal with on a daily basis,” she says. “Not being able to use the girls’ bathroom is just another nail in the co n of people not support ingWhatme.” might seem like a trivial exer cise to some — using the restroom — has become ground zero in an ideological ba le over transgender student rights in public schools across Virginia. During a heated meeting in November, the Hanover School Board voted 4-3 against revising policies to protect gender-a rm ing bathroom access for students. More than 50 people spoke ahead of the vote, including several transgender students.

The Zweckbronners, from left to right: Harry, Bee, Grace and Ann

FIGHTING FOR ACCESS Hanover County, a battle over transgender student rights heads to court Leah Small

e ACLU has on its side state law and recent precedent established in a federal case. Both indicate the school division is legally liable for its decision to not grant gender-a rming bathroom access, says Eden Heilman, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia.“There’s no ambiguity in the school board’s vote,” Heilman says in a state ment. “ e board members knew [their] actions were discriminatory and outside the law, but they did it anyway.”

The basis of the ACLU lawsuit is state legislation that passed in 2020, which requires school divisions to adopt poli cies that protect the rights of transgen der and nonbinary students. The legislation came on the heels of a lawsuit ﬁled in U.S. District Court in 2015 by transgender high school student Gavin Grimm, who sued Gloucester County Schools for barring him from using the boys’ bathroom. e judge determined that the board’s action was unconstitutional because it violated Grimm’s Title IX rights, which prohibit sex-based discrimination. The ruling was upheld in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020, and in June of last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand. But the ba le is far from over. Legisla tion was introduced in the Virginia Gen eral Assembly earlier this year that would reverse the 2020 law, which requires divisions to adopt policies outlined by the Virginia Department of Education. VDOE guidelines require school sta to use the preferred names and pronouns of transgender students and allow students to use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity. The 2020 law, however, has been unevenly applied, requiring only that local school boards adopt policies that are “consistent with” the state’s model guidelines. Richmond and Chesterﬁeld have adopted policies closely resembling the state model, for example, while Henrico

LOCAL G

Quayola concert at Artechouse

Cherry blossoms abloom fronting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in West Potomac Park

TREAT YOURSELF For an upscale boutique hotel experience, the stylish Kimpton Banneker Hotel in Dupont Circle provides a walkable hub for many popular attractions. In addition to impeccable service and thoughtful amenities such as a fitness center and shuttle service, the hotel boasts an impres sive breakfast and dinner menu in its ground-floor French bistro, Le Sel. Or take in impressive city views while enjoying the open-air rooftop bar, Lady Bird. For an alternative breakfast experience, try my favorite — the Avocado Smash — at the Scott Circle location of Bluestone Lane, just steps from the hotel’s front door. My top lunch spot within walking distance is the trendy Duke’s Grocery, where the sockeye bowl is jammed with flavor. Although the seared diver scallops at Le Sel left me wanting to eat there every night, I found the vibrant Barcelona Wine Bar close by. The trendy spot was packed, but the manager Carlos found a spot for me at the chef’s table so I could see all the action. The potato tortilla and braised pork were amazing, but when Chef Ricky brought the Gambas Al Ajillo, it was, as he said, life-changing. The flavor-packed food and lively atmosphere were only topped by the friendly and attentive sta . OLD AND NEW This trip marked my first visit to the National Archives Building, where I viewed the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Washington Artechouse will thrill the artist in you with inno vative technology-driven art, and the Smithsonian’s “Futures,” in the Arts and Industries Building, is a fascinating place for dreamers to peek into the future (on display until July 6)

LIVING

SIGHTS TO SEE Be sure to check the hours of your favorite attraction or museum before going, as pandemic-related changes have closed the doors of some museums several days a week. Some of my picks include the Smithsonian’s National Museum

MESICTOMBOTTOM:WASHINGTON.ORG;OFCOURTESY EXPERIENCE

A CAPITAL

MARCH / 202256 or Richmond residents, a trip to our nation’s cap ital is just a two-hour drive or ride on one of Amtrak’s trains away. Since Washington-area tra c can be awful, and driving and parking downtown can be cumbersome and expensive, taking the train is a convenient option: Historic Union Station will place you in the middle of the action.

Spring is a ﬁne time to explore Washington By Kari Smith TRAVEL

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March 4-6, 2022 Richmond Raceway ComplexExhibitor List SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Visit www.RichmondHomeAndGarden.com for more information. Thank you to our Sponsors: * Exhibitor List Subject to Change Visit RichmondHomeAndGarden.com for most up to date list.4 RichmondHomeAndGarden.com Meet with hundreds of experts in landscaping, remodeling, kitchen & bath, home décor, flooring and more. Stroll through the feature garden presented by Schultz Lawnscapes. Shop The Marketplace for a variety of items, from tasty treats to unique home décor. See new and innovative products for your home. And more. SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION Exhibitor Booth 13TEN Renovations 340 '58 Foundations 940 A Shade Above 934 A-1 Concrete Leveling 746 Ace Handyman Services 318 Active Medicare Solutions 1231 ADT Security Services 533 Advanced Window Tint 322 AffordAPro Window and Pressure Cleaning LLC 725 Aid Our Veterans 1018 Aikey Kitchen and Bath 737 Aikey's Home Improvements, LLC. 421 Air Solutions 222 Air-Pro Mechanical 431 Allied Powers 732 Alpha and Omega Remodeling Llc 310 American Service Company RVA 1237 American Siding Inc. 609 Apple Door Systems, Inc 507 Ashley Elevator/Area Access 916 Atkinson Insurance Agency 330 Atlantic House Plans LLC 647 Atlantic Marketing of Maryland 303 Bath Fitter 544 Bee's Treasure Trove 1236 Beltone Hearing Aids 936 Better Garden Tools 1022 Blue Sky Blinds, Shades & Shutters 129 Brown & Company 1020 Built to Last 427 Bush Construction Co. 522 C&M Trends 834 Capital Remodeling 133 Capital Repair Services 218 Carefree Boat Club 749 Castle "The Window People" 736 Central VA Football Officials Assocoiation 1239 Champion Windows, Siding & Patio Room 627 Chim Chimney Chimney Cleaning 323 Chocolate Moonshine 1039 City of Richmond Department of Utilities 143 CJ's Garage Doors 613 Classic Granite and Marble 939 Cleanvent Dryer Exhaust Specialist 243 Click Heat DBA WonderPax 1246 Closet Factory - Richmond VA 114 Closets of Virginia 820 Colonial 1st Mortgage 731 Colonial Floors of VA 549 Convert Solar 727 Covenant Solar and Roofing 915 Cross Timbers Roofing 219 Cutco Cutlery 532 Dark Run Jerky 1026 Deck Creations of Richmond, LLC 418 Dripping Springs Ollas 710 Dryer Vent Safety 633 Dumpster Wagon 227 Dynamark Security of Richmond, Inc. 927 East Coast Honey 1034 Edward Jones 738 RichmondHomeAndGarden.com

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TRAVELER

A MUSICAL UPBRINGING Smith, 81, who now lives in Twin Hickory in Short Pump with his wife, Louise, grew up in Church Hill, surrounded by musi cianship to a rare degree. His father, Lonnie Sr., sang with the nationally known gospel group e Harmonizing Four, rub bing elbows with some of the genre’s big gest“Allnames.thegospel groups used to come by the house,” the younger Smith remem bers. “Sam Cooke when he was with the Soul Stirrers, the Dixie Hummingbirds, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was crazy about my father and the Harmonizing Four. … She moved to Richmond, and I used to listen to her play guitar and said, ‘Wow, this is di erent.’ ” Smith says his father was always on the lookout for new sounds, and not just within the world of gospel. “He loved all

Smith familiarized himself with the Rhodes. Then, as he began to play, history happened. “Everybody ran over,” Smith recalls, “Pharoah, the engineer, everyone said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, I’m just writing this song. It’s the ﬁrst time I’ve played the Fender Rhodes.’ They said, ‘We’ve got to record this right now. What are you going to call it?’ I was studying astral projection, and it sounded like we were ﬂoating, so I said, ‘Let’s call it “Astral Traveling.” ’ ”

MARCH / 202268 all it the Big Bang of the cosmic sound.

In 1970, at the storied Record Plant recording studio in Los Angeles, Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. ﬁrst sat at a Fender Rhodes electric piano. While he waited for the other players to unpack at a recording session for the Pharoah Sanders album “Thembi,”

Smith, a Richmond native, is credited with establishing a vast and influential area of the jazz landscape, one defined by a fluidity of sound and an upli ing spir itualism. As he sat at that Rhodes piano in LA, his career was zooming skyward. Stints with great jazz players were already in his rearview mirror. But that particular moment found Smith dri ing in a sonic direction that would soon reach across the globe and that has since spanned generations of musicians who have fol lowed in his footsteps. “Seems like all the songs I did — ‘Give Peace a Chance’ and ‘Expansions’ — people say they need that now,” Smith says. “ ey definitely need ‘Visions of a New World’ because I think this is the first time in the history of mankind when the whole world is shut down at the same time.”

The music database Discogs lists 33 pressings of “Expansions,” including mul tiple editions from 1975, the year it was released, manufactured as far away as Germany, France and South Africa. “Bob iele was dealing with RCA Records, and they started scrambling,” Smith says. “ ey had to go back and reprint thou sands and thousands.” Smith’s break through LP landed at No. 10 on Billboard’s year-end jazz albums chart for 1975. “Back in the days when he released the ‘Expansions’ album, there was no genre called smooth jazz,” says Branch, a founder of the Richmond Jazz Society. “He would be the bridge between smooth jazz and spiritual jazz, because his music is very smooth and very appealing and very soothing, not as abrasive as some of the other spiritual jazz or some of the avant-garde jazz.” e title track of “Expansions” is a jazzfunk touchstone, featuring a buoyant blend of treated keyboard sounds and fusion elements, with vocals from Smith’s brother Donald entreating listeners “to understand we all must live in peace.”

“My father and my mother were very spiritual,” Smith says. “I was expanding on making it more universal, that gospel and that spirituality that I received from them. Let’s take it to the whole world and expand their minds, so we can have a vision of the new world, everyone living in peace and harmony.” ose themes remained at the fore front of Smith’s music, from a string of late-1970s albums on Columbia Records to an early-1980s run on Bob iele’s newly formed Doctor Jazz imprint. A key col

Musician Pharoah Sanders (left) and Smith in France, 1977 “I had to try to FIGURE OUT ways to get more SOUND. So I’m using my 10 FINGERS, but then sometimes you might use your FOREARM. ” he recalls. “ I said, ‘Now, if I hook these pedals up to the Fender Rhodes, I wonder what would happen?’ And it worked.”

Given Smith’s adventurous approach, both with Sanders and soon a er with Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri, it seemed preordained that he would link up with Miles Davis in the early 1970s.

MARCH / 202270 times you reach [inside the piano] to the strings. Trying all kinds of things.”

“It’s not o en that you get to be inno vative and popular and upli ing all at the same time,” Branch says of Smith. “He may be the deﬁnitive musician to combine those three things.”

WORLDWIDE SUCCESS Smith recorded his 1973 debut, “Astral Traveling,” at the encouragement of Bob iele, the producer and Flying Dutchman label owner who recorded countless jazz greats, including John Coltrane. Audienc es responded quickly, and within months, Smith le Davis’ ensemble to form his own. While he saw similar success with his second e ort, “Cosmic Funk,” his third album, “Expansions,” launched his career as bandleader into the stratosphere. “ at just took o worldwide,” Smith says.

LEFT:FROM ALLENGLENATCENTERARTSCULTURALTHECOURTESYPIANOHAMID,ZAIDSMITH;LISTONLONNIECOURTESY

Recording for Davis’ albums “On the Corner” and “Big Fun” demanded Smith make new strides in his development as an artist, some of which were spurred by the legendary trumpeter’s signature directness.“CanItake it home and practice?” Smith asked upon being assigned to play an unfamiliar Yamaha electric organ. Davis’ reply: “No.” en there’s the time Smith learned at the last minute that he’d be one of three keyboardists playing simultaneous ly. Davis’ words of encouragement: “What the f--- are you waiting for?” “ at’s how Miles made you strong,” Smith says. “He’d get upset if you weren’t creating every day or every night you were performing with him.” One crucial leap forward during Smith’s time with Davis resulted not from the bandleader’s gru motivational style, but from Smith’s application of the tools Davis was using. “He had all these pedals hooked up on the ﬂoor on his trumpet,”

laborator during this period was two-time Grammy winner Marcus Miller. e iconic bassist and composer was just 16 when he was introduced to Smith, yet Miller quick ly earned Smith’s conﬁdence, and some of Miller’s earliest compositions found a home on Smith’s Columbia-era albums. “He provided me with that stage as a writer,” Miller says, “and he would let me arrange the band and tell them what I thought they should play, which was kind of crazy, because I’m this li le 16-, 17-yearold kid instructing the older guys. But he got a kick out of it.”

SMITHLISTONLONNIECOURTESY

Identifying and empowering promising young players is among the highest call ings a masterful jazz musician can answer. Miller draws a direct line from Smith’s support to that of Miles Davis, with whom Miller would also go on to collaborate. “Once [Smith] figured out that I had some talent,” Miller recalls, “he’s like, ‘C’mon, do your thing.’ And I’m doing the same thing with young guys in my group. I don’t know if Miles had a mentor, or if it just came from him, but that’s a tradition that’s being passed down through generations.”

“Having him over at the house was like our own private master class,” Harris says. “It was great. It was almost like he wanted to come into our world. Obviously, we know so much about his world.”

As a beatmaker, Harris understands another important facet of Smith’s legacy: hip-hop sampling. Smith’s compositions have been sampled heavily, perhaps most notably on Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents,” a song that incorporates the lilting piano from Smith’s “A Garden of Peace.”

There may be no better lens through which to view Smith’s lasting impact than that of Devonne Harris, who plays keys for Richmond group Butcher Brown and produces beats as DJ Harrison. “Here’s a guy who took his dream and his vision and actually made it happen,” Harris says. “For a lot of creatives who are here in Rich mond, that’s deﬁnitely inﬂuential.”

Smith made contact via the group’s drummer, Corey Fonville, and he arranged to visit the Butcher Brown home studio. “We jammed a li le bit, we hung out, he played the Rhodes and started playing some of his hits,” Fonville recalls. “It was a very special moment.”

Musical partner and friend Marcus Miller (left) listens as Smith plays the keys of the cosmos.

MARCH / 202272

Harris grew up surrounded by Smith’s music — “My dad had a lot of his records,” he says — and he sought out those same albums upon starting his own collection. He’s since continued down Smith’s trail blazing path by customizing the sound of his keys. “He creates his own textures,” Harris says. “I’ve deﬁnitely picked up on that from him.” Smith returned to Richmond from New York in 1988, seeing in his hometown qual ities that local artists such as Harris con tinue to benefit from: a location that’s convenient for East Coast touring and easy access to air travel. Ironically, Smith was in Atlanta being interviewed for radio when Butcher Brown first crossed his radar a handful of years ago. “ e inter viewer said, ‘Man, have you heard this group from Richmond, Butcher Brown? Let me play this record for you,’ ” he recalls.

LEGACY AND INFLUENCE

Smith’s 1977 “Live” album was crucial to Harris’ early exploration of sampling, and repurposing Smith’s music is one way to acknowledge that inﬂuence. “He’s one of the artists that understands that sam

*Brilliant Summer at St. Catherine’s Hundreds of coed o erings include Young Explorers, Design Your Day Camps, Special Interest Camps and more. Age 3 to rising 12th graders. 6001 Grove Ave., 804-288-2804 or st.catherines.org.

*Hanover County Parks and Recreation Camps for elementary- and middle-school-age children. 804-365-7150 or hanoverparksrec.com.

*Chesterﬁeld Historical Society of VirginiaSummer Camps O ers the Diggin in History Archaeology Camp for ages 8-13 at Historic Trinity Church, Heritage Crafts and Games Camp for ages 8-13 and Historic Crafts and Trades Camp for children ages 8-13 at Castlewood. 804-751-4946 or chesterﬁeldhistory.com.

*ArtVenture Summer Camp Visual Arts Center of Richmond classes for ages 5-14. 1812 W. Main St., 804-353-0094 or visarts.org.

*Camp Hilbert From the morning ﬂagpole assembly to canoeing on beautiful Lake Rosalie, campers (grades K-8) enjoy a range of activities. 2240 Maidens Road, Goochland, 804-545-8650 or weinsteinjcc.org.

*Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Various programs including sports, performing and visual arts, and nature. 804-646-5733 or rva.gov/parks-recreation

*Chesterﬁeld County Parks and Recreation Camps focused on nature, history, therapeutic recreation and traditional camps for ages 5 to 15. 804-7481623 or chesterﬁeld.gov/parks.

*YMCA of Greater Richmond Various branch locations o er day, specialty and sports camps and summer child care for toddlers to teens. 804-6499622 or ymcarichmond.org/camp.

*CharacterWorks Day camps in musical theater for ages 6-13; separate program for ages 14-19. 804-306-9159 or cworkstheater.org

*Specialty Camps O ered from June 21-Aug. 26 for grades K-8, these include sports, art, science and leadership. 5403 Monument Ave., 804-545-8658 or weinsteinjcc.org.

*Great Summer Escape Day camps for rising ﬁrst graders to age 12 at multiple Richmond community center locations. 804-646-5733 or rva.gov/parks-recreation.

*Good Shepherd Episcopal School Fun, educational camps in hiking, computers and everything in between. Reserve spots early. 4207 Forest Hill Ave., 804-231-1452 or gses.org Oak Hill Christian Service Camp A fun, safe experience for campers from kindergarten to college. 8451 Oak Hill Camp Road,Mechanicsville, 804-779-3050 or oakhillcamp.org. Westview on the James Methodist overnight summer camps for ages 7-15, and Adventure Trek programs for ages 13-16. 1231 Westview Road, Goochland, 804-457-4210 or westviewonthejames.org.

*Henrico County Recreation and Parks Various programs, including performing arts, visual arts, nature and sports camps. 804-501-7275 or henrico.us/rec

*Trinity Episcopal School’s Summer Discovery Program Sports, music, art, academic and collegeprep camps for all ages. 3850 Pittaway Drive, 804-272-5864 or trinityes.org/summer.

*Camp Blue Sky Day Camp programs for schoolaged children (grades K-5) with STEM activities, outdoor exploration, ﬁeld trips and more. Five area locations, 804-747-5900 or leafspringschool. com/programs.

*YMCA Camp underbird Activities such as music, zip line, mountain biking and more. The EveryBuddy program is available for children with special needs. Ages 8-17. 9300 Shawonodasee Road, Chesterﬁeld,804-748-6714 ymcarichmond.org/locations/camp-thunderbird.or

*ArtHaus Summer Camps [Tentative] Ages 4-16. Explore clay, paint, mixed media and more. 1811 Huguenot Road, Suite 303, Midlothian, 804-8974278 or arthausrichmond.com.

* e Steward Summer Experience Over 80 camps for grades JK-12, including sports, arts and innovation. 11600 Gayton Road, 804-740-3394 or stewardschool.org/summer.

*Saint Gertrude High School Programs for girls who will be entering fourth to ninth grades. Activities include volleyball, basketball and more. 12829 River Road, 804-708-9500 or saintgertrude.org.

RELIGIOUS

*GreenSpring Summer Music Institutes Three weeks of programming, including one week of online sessions. Instruction in a variety of instruments for ages 8-22 at all skill levels. 4101 Grove Ave., 804-353-7001 greenspringmusic.org/summer-1.or Guardian Christian Academy Weekly themes include sports and reading. 6851 Courthouse Road, 804-715-3210 or gcakids.com.

*CSz Comedy Camps for Kidz Half- and full-day camps on improvisation and collaboration, basic acting, and sketches for rising ﬁfth to 12th graders. 8906 W. Broad St., 804-266-9377 or cszrichmond. com/comedy-camps.

*Kids’ and Teens’Camps at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Cross-cultural learning, fun and creative projects, and more. Five-day camps are o ered weekly, June 27-Aug. 19, for ages 5-17. 200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, 804-340-1405 or vmfa.museum.

*Camp Ashland Hands-on history program for grades two to six. 804-368-7314 or ashlandmuseum.org.

A sampling of camps in and around Virginia * = Day camp or day-camp option oﬀered To see an extended version of this list, visit richmondmag.com/camps.

*Cri er Camp Rising ﬁrst through ninth graders who love animals will ﬁnd many programs to choose from at the Richmond SPCA. 2519 Hermitage Road, 804-521-1327 or richmondspca. org/camp.

*Club SciKidz/Tech Scientiﬁc STEM-related camps in science and technology and the arts for prekindergartners through eighth graders. Locations in Chesterﬁeld and Henrico, 804-5484787 or clubscikidzrva.com.

*Camp Hanover Day and overnight sessions for elementary, middle and high school youth. Christian focus. 3163 ParsleysMill Road, Mechanicsville, 804-779-2811 or camphanover.org.

*Latin Ballet of Virginia Four Arts in Education Summer Day Camps help students connect dance forms to language and culture. The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, 2880 Mountain Road, 804356-3876 or latinballet.com/camp.

*CodeVA’s Eureka Workshop O ers arts-integrated summer camps, a robotics team and other out-ofschool programs. 300 E. Broad St., 804-727-9817 or codevirginia.org.

MARCH / 202298 CAMP GUIDE

*Camp Ganim Day camp for ages 2-5. O ers opportunities to interact with nature, plus swimming, music and art. 5403 Monument Ave., 804-285-6500 or weinsteinjcc.org.

*Collegiate Summer Quest More than 175 camps, from sports to academic enrichment, for 3-yearolds to adults. 103 N. Mooreland Road, 804-7419714 or collegiate-va.org.

*Cub Scout Day Camp For boy and girl Cub Scouts and their siblings in grades one through ﬁve. Activities include archery, BB-gun range, ﬁshing and more. Multiple locations in the RichmondPetersburg area.804-355-4306 or hovc.org

*Camp Half-Blood At this camp for rising second to ﬁfth graders, kids become heroes as they go on quests and battle foes. Based on the Percy Jackson YA novels, immersive lessons range from swordplay to ancient Greek crafts. Weeklong sessions run June 27-July 22. Forest Hill Park, W. 42nd Street and New Kent Avenue. 929-829-4732 or camphalfbloodbklyn.com/foresthillpark Camp Invention One-week elementary enrichment program inspired by the inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame for kindergartners through sixth graders. Multiple locations, 800-968-4332 or invent.org/camp. * e Carmel School Summer programs for pre-K through middle school students. Session topics include reading comprehension, STEAM-related instruction, art and more. Ruther Glen, 804-4483288 or thecarmelschool.org. CENTERS Summer Programs at VSU O ers a variety of enrichment programs in literacy, STEM and education for students in grades 1-12. 804-7218817 or vsucenters.org.

Summer and Day Camps

* e Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen Youth summer camps and art programs allow children’s curiosity to ﬂourish as they create art in a variety of media. Summer and private classes are also available. 2880 Mountain Road, 804-2612787 or artsglenallen.com.

SPECIAL INTERESTS

*Encore Studio Instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and acro, among other activities. Ages 3-18. Weeklong camps, eight-week instructional sessions and weekly workshops. 15584 Westchester Commons Way, 804-794-2646 or encorestudio.com

*Doodle Dynamo A place where kids imagine, design and create, o ering various art-themed camps for rising ﬁrst through eighth graders. Millwood School, 15100 Millwood School Lane, 804-256-3545 or doodledynamo.com.

*Maymont Summer Camps Outdoor adventures, games, crafts and more for preschool to middle school kids. 2201 Shields Lake Drive, 804-3587168 or maymont.org/summer-camps

*St. Christopher’s Summer Programs An extensive variety of half-day and full-day, specialty, athletic, academic and day camps for boys and girls ages 3-18. 711 St. Christopher’s Road, 804-282-3185, ext. 5327, or stchristophers.com.

*Knights of Summer Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School summer camps for age 3 through 5th grade include STEAM skills, crafts, sports, cooking and more. 2501 Academy Road, Powhatan, 804-598-4211 or bshknights.org.

*Marianne Kelley’s School of Dance Camps with dancing instruction for ages 3 and up. 1807 Huguenot Road, Suite 115, 804-292-5917 or mksdance.com.

Smith says. “Everybody has to ﬁgure this out with me — consen sus-building, the best and hardest part about a cooperative venture.

I like the freedom to be able to experiment and be creative; it’s a really freeingEachconcept.”partner at A erglow will own an equal share of the company and receive the same pay. They will work four days a week, ﬁve if needed. There will be no clocking in and out, and no set time requirements.“Wealltrust each other, we’re all work ing towards the same goals,” Smith says.

Afterglow’sdarkroastblend

“For us, this is how we would like to see the world operate more,” Forest says. “People should have a say over how that work gets done. While they may not have been shareholders in Lamplighter, they absolutely created value and created a lot of what it was, so for them to then be able to transition to taking ownership of that [roasting] operation felt like, for me, a great next step.” R

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company’s roasting equipment and its wholesale clients. “I’ve been thinking about my own cafe or shop or roastery forever, but I helped build that business, and I don’t want to compete with Lamplighter,” Smith says. “I love them — they brought me into all of this. It was the only thing I can envi sion to keep us here and in the industry. The relationship has really been beneﬁ cial for everyone to focus on one thing.”

“I’m excited about collabora tive coﬀee sourcing and buying,”

The feeling of loyalty to one another and to the business — particularly in an industry where turnover rates are high — paired with the idea of building a future from a place that provided a foun dation was echoed both by Smith’s fellow workers and Lamplighter’s owners. Lamplighter co-owner Noelle Forest describes it as a rebirth. “When this opportunity came up to transition, that part of it was along the lines of what we would like to see happen anyway,” she says, noting that this shi will help test the busi ness model. “Instead of build ing things back to the way they were, how can we pivot andLamplighterreshape?” now operates solely out of its original Addi son Street location. Forest says of streamlining the business, “It’s where it all started, and having that be the one place that has stayed with us is amazing, and we want to see that location bloom in theForestfuture.”says that when she start ed Lamplighter in 2009 with a small and scrappy squad, the intention wasn’t for massive expansion but to build a coffee community. However, she adds, over time the company grew into more of a tradi tional business — three cafes and almost 80 employees — a shi that was not nec essarily aligned with their ethos. Currently in a phase of “dreaming and scheming,” plo ing renovations and dis cussing long-term goals for Lamplighter, Forest is excited to do less and see how, in turn, that could lead to more. No longer roasting, Lamplighter will source its beans directly from A erglow, and Lamp lighter’s namesake coffee blend will only be available directly at its Fan shop. “It’s the same coffee we want, roasted how we want, by people we know and trust on the same equipment,” Forest says. “All the same great things from that team, but now [we] can focus solely on this.” Smith and his After glow co-owners are look ing forward to exploring hat’s possible.

The aim is for everyone not only to have their basic needs met, but also to be able to thrive. And while the empower ment and ability to shape their own futures may sound like an idyllic way of working, they believe it can and should be the way it always is.

(Above, from left): Maves roasting coffee beans,beans,packagingDelacruzSmithwithafresh-brewedlatte